a year you will have the chance to create:
features, hard news, reviews, captions,
opinion columns, blog writing, humor
columns, letters to the editor, and photo
stories.
News Writing
0.5 credit
Grade 10, 11, and 12 with priority given
upper grade level students
Prerequisite: Introduction to Journalism
or recommendation of the instructor
This one semester course is designed to
give students an in-depth experience
in developing, writing, and publishing
traditional news stories. These stories
typically deal with local politics,
interesting or provocative criminal cases,
community events or organizations, and
international events that are connected
to the area of the world where the class
is taught. Students will be expected to
develop the stories quickly and produce
accurate, interesting, and focused stories.
The work produced in this class may be
published in one of the school’s news
publications, online, or perhaps with a
local media company.
Radio/Audio Journalism
0.5 credit
Grade 10 ,11, and 12 with priority given
upper grade level students
(offered next in 2016-17)
Prerequisite: Introduction to Journalism
or recommendation of the instructor
This journalism-based course provides
students with the opportunity to
have their voice streamed live via the
Internet. This is a creative course that
offers hands-on experience behind the
microphone, and it will help a student
to develop their journalism skills while
running a radio show. Whether it’s
talk, music, entertainment, politics,
interview, or sports, the topics are
virtually endless. The class will focus on
content generation, research, writing,
and collaborative creativity.
Yearbook Publication
1 credit
Grades 11 and 12
Prerequisite: Previous course in
computer publication or imaging, and
a letter of application showing attention
to detail, responsibility, and potential for
leadership
Students will use a variety of publication
skills including page design, computer
layout, thoughtful collaboration with
peers, written and photo journalism,
editing, and handling the business
aspects of publishing a yearbook. The
end product will be a yearbook that
reflects the entire Thornton Academy
community. After the yearbook is sent
to the printer in the spring, students will
continue coverage for next year’s book
and other spring publications projects.
Students have the option of applying to
serve as a Yearbook Editor by noting this
in the letter of application to this course.
Along with general responsibilities of
being a member of the Yearbook staff,
editors will take on a leadership role to
help coordinate the Yearbook process.
Editors must be willing to communicate
openly with Yearbook Publications
staff members to get desired results,
contribute beyond normal classroom
time when needed, and go above and
beyond to produce an award-winning
Yearbook.
Technical Writing in an iPad World
0.5 credit
Grade 10, 11 and 12
This course is designed to develop and
improve students’ technical writing
skills, and introduce the technology
used in the workplace today. Students
will focus on the production of material
that uses all of their creative energy, and
channel those creative ideas into projects
that match their interests. Reflective
of the demands of today’s workplace,
emphasis is placed on the selection
and organization of technical data for
presentation to a variety of audience, in
a multitude of ways. Students will: create
new websites, learn the basics of digital
and video editing, learn to embed audio
and publish articles and information (as
writers and bloggers do today), create
real-time links to collected data, answer
proposals and create marketing material
for real companies and real products. In
many ways, this class will focus on the
writing that is done on a daily basis in
the digital world \